Gaming systems (such as electronic gaming machines (EGMs)) that provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. These gaming systems generally require a player to place a wager to activate a play of the primary game. For gaming system configured to operate a slot or spinning-reel type game, there are a variety of known ways in which the gaming systems may evaluate displayed symbols to determine whether to provide any awards for a play of the slot game. One known manner of doing so includes the gaming system evaluating the displayed symbols to determine whether any winning symbols or winning symbol combinations are displayed along one or more paylines. Another known manner of doing so includes the gaming system determining whether any scatter pay symbols are displayed. Another known manner of doing so includes the gaming system performing a ways-to-win evaluation of the displayed symbols. Each of these award evaluations is described below.
One known gaming system is configured to operate a slot game associated with a plurality of reels and one or more paylines. The slot game may be associated with any suitable number of reels, such as three to five reels, which each include any suitable number of symbols and are configured to display one or more of those symbols at one or more symbol display areas. The gaming system initiates a spin of the reels upon receiving one or more wagers on one or more paylines associated with the slot game. The slot game may be associated with one, three, five, nine, fifteen, twenty-five, or any other suitable number of paylines that are horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or any combination thereof and are associated with one or more of the symbol display areas. One slot game includes a different payline associated with each possible combination of symbol display areas.
The gaming system spins and stops the reels such that a symbol is displayed at each symbol display area. The gaming system analyzes the displayed symbols to determine if the any winning symbols or winning combinations of the symbols are displayed on or along one or more of the wagered-on paylines. The gaming system provides any awards associated with any displayed winning symbols or winning symbol combinations to the player. More specifically, in such slot games, the gaming system generally determines the awards based on the number of wagered-on paylines that pass through each of the winning symbol combinations. That is, the gaming system separately analyzes each wagered-on payline to determine if a winning symbol combination is displayed along that payline. For each occurrence of each payline passing through a winning symbol combination, the gaming system provides the player the award associated with that winning symbol combination. For example, in a five reel slot game, if four related symbols (that form a winning symbol combination) are generated by the first four reels and twelve paylines pass through the first three of those related symbols (i.e., three paylines running left to right pass through all four related symbols and nine paylines running left to right pass through the first three related symbols), the gaming system provides the player twelve awards (i.e., one award for each payline that passes through the winning symbol combination). These twelve separate awards are each for the single occurrence of the winning symbol combination including the four related symbols. Accordingly, the greater the number of wagered-on paylines that pass through a winning symbol combination, the greater the award as compared to an identical winning symbol combination in which fewer wagered-on paylines pass through the same winning symbol combination.
In another type of gaming system configured to operate a slot game (that may or may not be associated with paylines), the gaming system analyzes the displayed symbols to determine if the gaming system has randomly generated and displayed a designated quantity of one or more scatter pay symbols. In this type of scatter pay award evaluation, the location of the designated quantity of displayed scatter pay symbols does not matter as long as those scatter pay symbols are displayed. The gaming system provides any awards associated with any displayed scatter pay symbols to the player.
In another type of gaming system configured to operate a slot game, the gaming system enables the player to wager on a number of ways to win, wherein any award provided to the player is based on the number of associated symbols that are generated in active symbol display areas on a requisite number of adjacent reels. In such ways to win slot games, the gaming system determines any award to provide to the player based on the number of associated symbols that are generated in active symbol display areas on a requisite number of adjacent reels (i.e., not on paylines passing through any displayed winning symbol combinations).
In some known ways to win slot games, the gaming system determines the total number of ways to win by multiplying the number of symbols generated in active symbol display areas on a first reel by the number of symbols generated in active symbol display areas on a second reel by the number of symbols generated in active symbol display areas on a third reel and so on for each reel associated with the slot game with at least one symbol generated in an active symbol display area. For example, a three reel slot game with three symbols generated in active symbol display areas on each reel includes 27 ways to win (i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on the third reel). A four reel slot game with three symbols generated in active symbol display areas on each reel includes 81 ways to win (i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on the third reel×3 symbols on the fourth reel). A five reel slot game with three symbols generated in active symbol display areas on each reel includes 243 ways to win (i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on the third reel×3 symbols on the fourth reel×3 symbols on the fifth reel). Modifying the number of generated symbols by either modifying the number of reels or modifying the number of symbols generated in active symbol display areas by one or more of the reels modifies the number of ways to win.
There is a continuing need to provide new and exciting manners of evaluating symbols to determine awards to increase player enjoyment, entertainment, and excitement.